System and method for fantasy mma pick &#39;em tournament game

ABSTRACT

Embodiments for a system and method for establishing a plurality of fantasy MMA tournaments to a plurality of participants utilizing an automated web-based platform are disclosed. In each embodiment, participants register into the web-based platform in order to create or join a tournament organized to play a fantasy MMA pick &#39;em game in accordance with game rules, including prediction of the outcomes of real-world MMA fights on a pre-defined fight card during which tournament competition is held; head-to-head match ups decided by relative prediction accuracy for specific fights assigned to tournament rounds; and predefined a method of victory.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to facsimile reproduction of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records; but the copyright owner reserves all copyright protections.

BACKGROUND

Mixed Martial Arts (herein referred to as “MMA”) fantasy sports games are derivative games in which scoring and outcomes are determined by the statistical results of real-world MMA events (herein referred to as “events,” “fight cards,” or “cards”). MMA is a combat sport organized by various promotional organizations including UFC®, Strikeforce™, DREAM, Bellator, and others. MMA involves two combatants (herein referred to as “fighters”) who compete in three or five round matches (herein referred to as “fights”), according to standardized rules dictated by the athletic commission of the state or country in which the fight is held.

Fantasy MMA comprises unique derivative games in which the scoring elements are based on the statistical results of events. In MMA fantasy games currently available in the marketplace, game users (herein referred to as “users,” “players,” or “participants”) make predictions (herein referred to as “predictions” or “picks”) for the statistical outcomes of all fights during applicable fight cards.

Typical fantasy MMA games include the “pick 'em” (short for “pick them”) style in which users predict the outcomes of fights over a some period of time, accumulating fantasy points for correct predictions. Examples follow:

http://www.mmaplayground.com/rules.aspx

http://mmajunkie.com/Fantasy/Rules.aspx

http://myfantasymma.com/scoring.asp

The games above are structured to operate as leagues where users score and accumulate points based on fight prediction accuracy and compete over extended time periods with other users within each league. There is no head-to-head (unique user vs. unique user) component, nor is there any type of tournament-style game in fantasy MMA games currently available. The head to head component and tournament-style game create excitement, urgency and personal connection that is not currently available in current fantasy MMA games. The embodiments herein include rules and game formatting designed to create and add head-to-head and tournament approaches to fantasy MMA pick 'em style games.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Generally speaking, and referring in a non-limiting way to specific embodiments of the invention, a system and method is presented for establishing a plurality of tournament leagues (herein referred to as “tournaments”) for a plurality of participants to play a fantasy MMA tournament pick 'em game, pitting unique user versus unique user in head-to-head prediction matches in a tournament style format during the course of a real-world MMA fight card. In one embodiment, the system comprises an automated web-based platform providing the MMA tournament pick 'em game, using a PHP-based server.

In one embodiment, the participants may be compiled into separate tournaments via automated processes provided by the web-based platform. Tournaments are based on future fight cards and expanded automatically by the web-based platform to accommodate more users as they join, until a pre-defined cutoff point is reached. New tournaments are formed by users and system administrators using the automated processes and tools provided by the web-based platform.

The automated web-based platform may be configured to facilitate the plurality of participants to access a graphical user interface (GUI) area defined in the form of a main webpage. The web-based platform renders an automated processing of fantasy MMA tournament pick 'em game functionalities such as compiling user fight predictions; forming tournament match ups (herein referred to as “brackets”); comparing fight picks; declaring bracket winners; advancing winners over bracket rounds; and identifying the winner of the tournament following the final bracket, which is tied to the last fight of the card (herein referred to as the “main event”). The automated web-based platform provides the tools necessary for the plurality of participants to manage their fight predictions and monitor their tournament results.

The elements predicted by users may be based on a number of statistical categories, including but not limited to: win/loss, submission type, knockout, technical knockout (TKO), decision type, round or time of victory, and fight card position.

Winning the fantasy MMA tournament game occurs when a participant achieves a better prediction outcome than each of his opponents over the course of an entire fight card. Tournaments are structured such that each round of tournament match ups is determined by comparing the accuracy of user predictions regarding a particular fight on the card assigned to that round. These round-fight assignments are structured so that tournament rounds advance according to the actual sequential order of the fight card and that the last round of each tournament corresponds to the main event fight.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principals of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exemplary main webpage of the present embodiment, illustrating a main marketing page with a plurality of links illustrating fantasy MMA tournament pick 'em game features, rules and methods for joining or creating tournaments.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary user fight prediction sequence. Users make a fight prediction for every fight on a tournament fight card, and those picks are matched on a fight-specific basis against other users' picks during each round.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary tournament bracket formation. Once two participants join, a tournament is created and then expanded to include more brackets and more rounds as additional participants join. As expanding brackets necessitate new tournament rounds, an additional earlier fight from the card is added for each new round, starting with the main event and then in reverse order of the actual sequential order in which the fights on the card occur. Predictions by users regarding the fight assigned to each round are compared in each head-to-head bracket match up to determine which users advance to the next round.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary tournament that has been expanded to include 32 participants and five total rounds, including the main event and the four fights that just precede it. In each round the predictions for the particular fight tied to that round are used to determine winners.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an aspect of a preferred embodiment, illustrating a method for establishing a fantasy MMA pick 'em tournament for a plurality of participants utilizing an automated web-based platform and the steps involved in automating the game for participants from beginning to end.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The embodiment detailed here is a system and method for establishing a plurality of fantasy MMA pick 'em tournaments for a plurality of participants, each predicting real-world MMA fight outcomes and competing with other participants in a tournament format based on head-to-head fight prediction accuracy. The system comprises an automated web-based platform providing the fantasy MMA pick 'em tournament game using a PHP based server.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary main webpage 10 of the embodiment. The automated web-based platform is operable to facilitate the plurality of participants to access a graphical user interface (GUI) area defined in the form of the main webpage 10. A game interfacing area included in the main webpage allows the plurality of participants to access links to a tournaments page 12, where users can find and join existing tournaments, an upcoming events page 14, where users can see upcoming MMA events, a prizes page 16, and rules & strategy page 18.

The main webpage 10 includes a participant registration area 20, that allows each participant to access a registration page for registering into the automated web-based platform by entering requested information and creating a participant account. The main webpage 10 also includes a log-in module 22 that allows a registered participant access to a user homepage corresponding to the registered participant, where all active tournaments joined by the user are listed and accessible for review. Additionally, the main webpage 10 includes dedicated sections for previewing upcoming events 24 and tournaments 26 and a button allowing participants to begin playing 28. All of the links located on the main webpage 10 correspond to additional webpages dedicated to each particular game function or feature, which include all automated processes and tools necessary to start, join and play in tournaments.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary fight prediction and tie-break sequence 30. Once a registered participant has requested to join a tournament, he is prompted by the automated web-based platform to make fight predictions for the card tied to that tournament. The plurality of participants are prompted to select the winner 32 of each fight on the card, followed by successive tie-breaker predictions regarding method of victory (submission, knockout, decision) 34, specific type of the chosen method of victory 36 and fight duration metrics such as fight round and/or time 38. The web-based platform compiles and compares participant predictions to determine the winner for each bracket of the tournament based on head-to-head prediction accuracy after the completion of the real-world fight that applies to each round of brackets.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the formation of a tournament 40 by the automated web-based platform, bracket by bracket. Once two participants join a tournament, a bracket is formed 42 and the tournament is activated. As additional participants join, they are matched up against existing tournament participants and extra rounds of brackets are created as necessary 44. If an uneven number of participants results, then some participants may be awarded a “bye,” meaning they get to skip the first round of the tournament that forms 46. The order of matching new participants with existing participants may be random or controlled. At some point the tournament stops accepting new participants based on various controls such as number of participants, tournament rounds, fights or limits based on time.

As each new round of brackets is added to a tournament, a new fight from the applicable MMA card is applied specifically to that round for comparing predictions 52, in reverse of the actual sequential order of the fights. The main event 48 is the fight applied when an initial tournament bracket forms. As the tournament grows when new participants join 44, the fights that precede it (herein referred to as “undercard fights” or “undercards”) are applied to each new round in reverse order of how they actually take place 50. This ensures that the tournament final round is always tied to the predictions for the main event. The first round of any tournament is tied to the earliest fight possible for it to still move in sequential fight order until the tournament final is ultimately matched with the main event fight.

FIG. 4 is a diagram displaying the continuation of the bracket formation process 40 until a 32-participant, five-round tournament 60 has been created. At this point in the process, the main event plus the four fights leading up to it are all now applicable 62 because five total tournament rounds have been created 64, necessitating five corresponding fight predictions to compare. The 4^(th) undercard 66 (5^(th) to last fight) prediction applies to the opening round competition among participants; the 3^(rd) undercard 68 (4^(th) to last) to the second round; the 2^(nd) undercard 70 (3^(rd) to last) to the third round; the 1^(st) undercard 72 to the fourth round; and the main event 74 to the tournament final round. New head-to-head match ups based on participant predictions for the next fight on the card apply with each successive round as winning participants advance.

It becomes apparent based upon the bracket formation process 40 that if another participant joins the tournament 60, it creates a new opening round comprising one bracket matching the new participant and one other participant from the tournament diagram 60. They would compete in the new opening round based on their predictions regarding the next earliest, or 5^(th) undercard fight, which would be a sixth fight applied to the tournament 60.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the present invention, illustrating a method for establishing a fantasy MMA tournament pick 'em game for a plurality of participants 80 utilizing an automated web-based platform.

Initially, each participant is registered into the automated web-based platform by entering requested information in the participant registration area 20 and creating a participant account as indicated at block 82.

At block 84, the plurality of participants are automatically matched with participants already registered in the automated web-based platform to establish a fantasy MMA “public” pick 'em tournament 26 based on head-to-head fight match ups decided by prediction accuracy pertaining to specific fights per round. Or alternatively, a fantasy MMA “private” pick 'em tournament 26 is created by a registered participant who is provided the ability to invite friends via the automated web-based platform.

The fantasy MMA pick 'em tournament is based on real-world MMA fight cards and head-to-head, single-elimination participant match ups, which are ultimately decided by the relative accuracy of participant predictions regarding a unique fight for each tournament round, as indicated at block 86.

At block 88, the plurality of participants predict the outcomes of all of the fights scheduled to take place on the MMA fight card tied to each tournament, using the automated processes provided by the web-based platform.

The web-based platform automatically compares the fight predictions made by participants in order to determine bracket winners and tournament advancement, as indicated at block 90.

At block 92, the automated web-based platform determines and declares participant winners for each tournament bracket based on relative prediction accuracy for the particular fight pertaining to each tournament round.

At block 94, the automated web-based platform advances winners of participant matchups after each fight concludes to the next round matchup, until just one participant remains following the main event. That participant is declared the winner.

From the description above, a number of advantages of the presented embodiments of my automated web-based platform fantasy MMA tournament pick 'em game become evident, and one or more of these advantages may appear in particular embodiments:

(a) Users are matched against one another in head-to-head, bracketed fashion, creating rivalries and adding interpersonal connection to each fight and every tournament round.

(b) Competition between users is simplified and resolution is found quickly for each match up since predictions regarding just one unique fight determine each round's result.

(c) Competitive intensity is heightened due to the sense of urgency, scarcity and finality created by the decreasing amount of participants with each successive round of the tournament format.

(d) Complete tournaments start and end quickly during just one fight event. New tournaments can be started with every new fight event.

(e) The entire process can be easily started, tracked and completed by participants using the automated processes and tools provided by the web-based platform.

Accordingly, it is understood that an automated web-based platform as described by the various embodiments presented will provide participants with the ability to organize and join fantasy MMA pick 'em tournaments based on head-to-head fight prediction competition and a dynamic format that expands brackets readily and applies specific fight predictions to each tournament round in the same sequential order as the MMA fights on the card, culminating with the participants' main event predictions being applied to determine the winner of the tournament's final round.

In one embodiment, this platform creates a fun and interactive fantasy MMA tournament experience for fantasy players on a commercial scale via a website tied to an automated web-based platform and a centralized server. Fundamentally sound and dynamic fantasy MMA tournament games with head-to-head structure and tournament rounds matched sequentially to fights are created.

While particular embodiments of my invention have been illustrated and described, it is apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the web-based platform may include additional functionality such as differentiated predictive variables and metrics. Additionally, the game may be implemented on a wide variety of types of networks, and across many different devices such as desktop computers, smart phones, tablets, game consoles, hand-held game units and a wide variety of devices known in the art and/or developed in the future suitable for playing games, and is therefore not limited to a particular network environment or device. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the appended claims. 

1. A computer readable storage medium encoded with computer program instructions which when accessed by a computer cause the computer to load the program instructions to a memory therein creating a special purpose data structure causing the computer to operate as a specially programmed computer, executing a method for establishing a fantasy mixed martial arts (MMA) tournament to a plurality of participants, the method comprising: creating in the specially programmed computer a database of participants and at least one unique tournament bracket, created by the matching of two participants in a contest of fight-outcome prediction accuracy; providing a fantasy MMA tournament pick 'em game, in which a plurality of participants compete in successive head-to-head match ups in accordance with game rules; providing each of the plurality of participants access to a standard graphical user interface (GUI), the GUI having a participant sign-in capability, a unique webpage corresponding to each registered participant and a tournament-specific area allowing the participant access to a tournament homepage that provides tournament information and a plurality of links to game functionality; wherein the game rules include: accumulating participant predictions regarding the outcomes of real-world MMA fights; a predefined fight card during which tournament competition is held; head-to-head participant match ups decided by relative prediction accuracy for a particular fight on said card assigned to each tournament round; and a predefined method of victory.
 2. The computer-readable storage medium as defined in claim 1 wherein participants' prediction accuracy regarding the winner of the applicable fight determines bracket winners.
 3. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein a tie breaker for determining bracket winners in the event that both participants select the same fighter to win is participants' predictions regarding method of victory.
 4. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein a tie breaker for determining bracket winners in the event that both participants select the same fighter to win is participants' predictions regarding fight duration metrics, including at least one of: round and time of victory.
 5. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the tournament rounds are assigned to fights in the actual sequential order of the fight card.
 6. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 5 wherein the tournament is structured so that the sequential assignment of fights to tournament rounds concludes with the main event fight assigned to the tournament final round.
 7. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the predefined method of victory comprises winning all match ups in every assigned bracket over the course of an entire fight card, including the tournament final round.
 8. In a computing environment comprising an online game service and a plurality of online game players playing a game at remote client computers that are connected to the game service, a method for establishing fantasy mixed martial arts (MMA) tournaments to a plurality of participants utilizing an automated web-based platform, the method comprising the steps of: a) registering the plurality of participants into the automated web-based platform by entering requested information and creating a participant account; b) at least one of: matching the plurality of participants with other participants registered in the automated web-based platform to establish a plurality of fantasy public tournaments and allowing participants to invite others to create fantasy private tournaments; c) organizing the fantasy tournaments in accordance with fantasy MMA tournament pick 'em game rules, including participant prediction of the outcomes of real-world MMA fights on a pre-defined fight card during which tournament competition is held; head-to-head match ups decided by relative prediction accuracy; and a predefined method of victory. d) allowing the plurality of participants to make fight predictions via the web-based platform; e) comparing the applicable fight prediction made by each participant against the prediction made by the opposing participant for every head-to-head matchup during each tournament round; f) determining and declaring round-by-round participant matchup winners based on relative prediction accuracy for the applicable fight assigned to each tournament round; and g) advancing participant match up winners after each tournament round to the next round match up, until just a single participant remains as tournament winner.
 9. In a computing environment comprising an online game service, a method for playing a fantasy mixed martial arts (MMA) tournament pick 'em game utilizing an automated web-based platform, the method comprising the steps of: a) registering into the automated web-based platform by entering requested information and creating a participant account; b) utilizing the automated system provided by the web-based platform to perform at least one of joining an existing fantasy MMA tournament within the web-based platform and creating a new private fantasy MMA tournament; c) making predictions regarding the outcomes of fights scheduled to take place on the real-world fight card tied to said tournament via the automated processes and tools of the web-based platform; d) competing with other participants within said tournament in accordance with game rules, including prediction of the outcomes of real-world MMA fights on a pre-defined fight card during which tournament competition is held; head-to-head match ups decided by relative prediction accuracy; and predefined a method of victory. e) advancing in said tournament by winning bracket match ups based on relative prediction accuracy for the fight assigned to each tournament round; f) accessing data provided by the web-based platform including fight predictions made by tournament participants and tournament results; and g) at least one of: winning the fantasy MMA tournament pick 'em game by making a more accurate fight outcome prediction than every bracket opponent over the course of the entire fight card and not winning the fantasy MMA tournament pick 'em game by making a less accurate fight outcome prediction than an opponent and thus failing to advance any further in said tournament. 